This, according to supporters of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), are lessons that Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. might do well to remember before thrashing the BBL.

“Tandaan po natin, ang pamilya Marcos, ang tatay ni Senator Bongbong Marcos, siya po ang pinagmulan ng puno’t-dulong gulo, lalong-lalo na po sa Mindanao,” said Aga Khan Sharieff, chairman of the Bangsamoro National Movement for Peace and Development, at a recent press briefing. [Let us not forget that it was the Marcos family, the father of Senator Bongbong Marcos, who started the conflict in Mindanao.]

A political advertisement featuring the young Marcos had repeatedly aired on national television. In it, he stated his opposition to the proposed law and announced his plan to draft a new version of the bill.

Earlier, Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on local government, had said that he would rather amend Republic Act No. 6734 or the Organic Act to establish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, rather than pass the BBL.

Sharieff, who is also known as “Sheik Bin Laden” because of his long beard, is also the lead convenor of Anti-Bugok or Anti-Bungangero at Utak Pulburang Pulitiko. The phrase translates to “Against Looudmouth and Trigger-Happy Politicians”.

PCIJ tried to reach Marcos on Monday for comment but his staff said the senator was attending a hearing on the case of a student who allegedly committed suicide after being berated by his teacher.

Meanwhile, Yhang Macusang, spokesperson of the Anak Mindanao (AMIN) Partylist group, said that instead of blocking the passage of BBL, Marcos would do well to take this chance to make amends with the Bangsamoro people.

“Panahon na po upang bumawi kayo (Marcos) sa mga mamamayang Moro. Kayo (Marcos) po sana ang magtuwid ng mali ng nakaraan. Ngunit tila yata tama ang kasabihang: Kung ano ang puno ay siya ang bunga,” Macusang said. [It’s high time for the Marcoses to do good by the Moro people. The Marcoses should correct the mistakes of the past. However, it seems like the saying is true: A tree bears fruit in its own image and likeness.]

“Bongbong law is martial law, laban sa Moro.” Thus, chanted the supporters of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) during a press briefing to denounce Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s pronouncement that he will draft another version of the bill | Photo by Cong B. Corrales

“He (Marcos) must lead the restitution for the victims of the Jabidah massacre, Manlili massacre, and the countless victims of enforced disappearance, torture and warrantless arrests,” the group said in a statement read by Abdul Malik, program director of Bawgbug Center for Human Rights and Peace.

The group said that if Marcos really wants peace in Mindanao, he should “stop his shameless use of the issue of the BBL for his political campaign ads.”

For her part, lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, secretary general of Mindanao People’s Caucus, said that the BBL is a product of 17 years of negotiations and hundreds of consultations. According to her, Marcos’s plan to draft his own version of the bill is an insult to the thousands of people who have devoted their time and effort in the drafting of the BBL.

“Wala na pong ibang mas makagagawa ng Bangsamoro Basic Law liban po sa mga Bangsamoro,” said Arnado. [No other group but the Bangsamoro people must raft their own Bangsamoro Basic Law.]